BEING HUMAN

TV SERIES REVIEW

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Review by
E.C. McMullen Jr.

KEEP THE WOLF AWAY
TIP JAR

BEING HUMAN - 2011
Created By, Muse Entertainment Enterprises
Rated: N/A

I saw a few of the first episodes of BEING HUMAN, the popular series from the UK. I never got into it. I'm so wildly impressed by the USA version* of BEING HUMAN, that I'm willing to give the UK series another chance.

In short order, we enter a new household where two men, Aidan (Sam Witwer: THE MIST, PATHOLOGY, GAMER) and Josh (Sam Huntington: DYLAN DOG) come together to be roommates. The homeowner, Danny (Gianpaolo Venuta: ABANDON, THE CIRCLE) couldn't be happier about it. He can't live in the house anymore since his fiance died there.

Soon after setting up home though, Aidan and Josh realize that the house is haunted by the dead fiance, Sally Malik (Meaghan Rath: 10.5 APOCALYPSE).

Having a verifiable ghost in the house, for these two men, is a bit more problematic than you'd think. Josh and Aidan, who work at the local hospital as orderlies, are trying to stay undercover. Their secrets are nothing you'd think of as average. Aidan is a vampire who has quit his clan. Having any vampire attempt to quit the clan rubs leader, Bishop (Mark Pellegrino: NIGHT LIFE, MIDNIGHT WITNESS, WORD OF MOUTH, MULHOLLAND DR., TWISTED, THE NUMBER 23, DEXTER [TV], THE COVERUP, 2:13, SUPERNATURAL [TV], LOST [TV]) wrong and this isn't simply a matter of pride. No vampire is allowed to be rogue for one thing. To have one in your territory (BEING HUMAN takes place in Boston but is actually a Canadian series) reflects poorly on your leadership abilities. Having members of your own clan leaving, means other leaders start coming around, questioning your ability to lead. Bishop can't afford having Aidan free of the clan.

What makes this situation even worse for Bishop is that Aidan has taken up with Josh and Josh is a Werewolf. Even in bloodlust, Vampires remain vampires, which means they remain thinking, rational beings. Not so with werewolves. They have no clan because they turn into pure wild animal when they change from human to beast. It's like cats and dogs living together.

So Aidan and Josh have plenty on their plate and just want a nice quiet brownstone they can live in and disappear into the population of a city. Except now they have a ghost. What's worse, Sally knows who killed her and wants revenge. Without revenge, Sally can't help being a restless spirit. And nothing tears up a house like a restless spirit.

This is an enormous burden on Josh and Aidan, but who are they to judge the problems of others? So begins this tale which, on the surface, would appear gimmicky as hell. And yet it works because the writing, led by Jeremy Carver (SUPERNATURAL [TV]), Anna Fricke (TOUCHING EVIL [TV]), and Toby Whithouse (BEING HUMAN creator - both original and this one) is just that good.

No, that's not quite right. Let me put it this way: the first episode wasn't bad at all for a first episode. The second episode was actually good. The third episode was quite good. The fourth episode was great and the one after that was even better.

And that's how the first season of BEING HUMAN is. Each episode is better than the last. Each one more fascinating, revealing greater depth in all of the characters. What's more, except for the three main characters, all of the rest of the characters appear to be expendable. You never know when they are going to die or how.

Where is the series now?

Now we have entered Stunning territory. BEING HUMAN is stunning!

I want to tell you so much more about this great series.

I want to tell you about the strong secondary characters like Rebecca Flynt (Sarah Allen: WALL OF SECRETS, SECRET WINDOW, BLACK SWARM, MURDOCH MYSTERIES [TV]), Nora (Kristen Hager: ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM, WANTED, VALEMONT [TV], TIES THAT BIND [2010]), and all of the other characters who are strong character studies, and those characters are contained within a plot and story that never stops to stare at them, but is enriched by them.

More than tell you, though, I want you to discover them yourself.

BEING HUMAN gets 5 Shriek Girls all the way!